


everything fits somewhere

by wlwjanis



Category: Mean Girls - Richmond/Benjamin/Fey
Genre: Derealization, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, F/F, F/M, Fluff, Friendship, Implied/Referenced Homophobia, Light Angst, Some Humor, damian and janis friendship content
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-04-26
Updated: 2019-04-26
Packaged: 2020-02-04 18:52:55
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,226
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18610453
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/wlwjanis/pseuds/wlwjanis
Summary: 'princess and the frog still played in the basement, as abandoned as janis felt.'⤷ what happens after janis and damian ride away on a jazzy from cady.





	everything fits somewhere

**Author's Note:**

  * For [rottingfruit](https://archiveofourown.org/users/rottingfruit/gifts).



Janis’s willpower to not isolate herself was tested way too often to be healthy. The only reason she wasn’t alone and hurting herself was that Damian was driving her home.

 

Why Janis ever told anyone she was gay was a mystery. All the fact did was beat her down with no remorse. Regina’s homophobia. Cady saying Janis was in love with her. She’d expect Damian to leave if he weren’t also gay.

 

_No, Cady. I’m not in love with you. I’d just like some fucking support for once._

 

The idea that Janis couldn’t be friends with a girl without everyone thinking they were dating - or without slurs being thrown around like nicknames towards Janis - pissed her off. Maybe she did have a crush on Cady. Maybe Damian did grin knowingly when Janis looked away from Cady a couple seconds later than normal. Maybe she was in love. But that was all beside the point. The stigma clung to her, heavy and relentless. Cady lying, skipping her art show for a party and betraying her trust really stung. The memory of what happened with Regina played sharp and vivid in her head. Though the harassment was definitely worse than Cady’s betrayal.

 

Her thoughts were starting to go in circles. She focused her vision, adjusting the position of her chin on Damian’s head.

 

Damian noticed the movement. “Welcome back to Earth, girlie.” His scooter creaked with the effort of a quick turn. “Want some ice cream?”

 

Janis giggled sharply, somewhat upset, somewhat amused. They pulled into a plaza littered with restaurants and banks, trailing over to the Dairy Queen. “Damian, it’s eleven at night and we’re getting ice cream?”

 

“Yep,”

 

“In the drive-through?”

 

“Yep.”

 

“On a _Jazzy?_ ”

 

“Yes, Janis. Now am I buying you comfort food or what?”

 

“Aw, Dame. You don’t have to buy it.’

 

He turned to look at her. “Yeah, Jan. I do. What are you craving?”

 

“Peanut butter cookie dough blizzard. And fries, maybe?” Janis’s voice was small and fragile. She felt bad for asking for things. She didn’t want to push her limits of the money Damian had on him. She didn’t want to stress him out.

 

She derealized for a minute. The blinding streetlights had no effect on her, nor the blare of car horns. The smell of fast food didn’t even hit her until Damian and she were a couple houses down from his.

 

“I thought you were dropping me off.” Janis blinked, her eyes slow to follow her brain’s request to focus. Damian stepped off of the scooter, now in front of his house. He grabbed the bag of food and punched his garage code in. Janis had known the code ever since Damian let her borrow his bike for a week when they were fourteen. 0702. His birthday, in order of month to the day.

 

Damian hummed. “You need some company. And I’m not eating two large fries alone.” He handed her the Dairy Queen bag. “Go inside. Pick a movie. Make yourself comfy.”

 

_Two large fries_. In Janis’s fragile state of mind, Damian’s generosity broke her. Her tear ducts reacted, hot tears spilling down her cheeks. “Okay,” she squeaked, hoping Damian didn’t think weirdly of her sudden cry-sesh.

 

   Damian’s house smelled like apple pie and warmth. It seemed like his mom’s whole life revolved around baking because the house smelled of a different dessert every day. Apple pie always seemed to be the scent to stay, though. Janis absorbed the happy-shock of the familiar smell and steady flow of hopeful memories, scratching Damian’s fat grey cat - fittingly named Chanel - when she bumped against Janis’s legs. She shuffled down the stairs to the basement, reluctantly flicking the light on in the bathroom.

 

   The sight of herself made her stop in her tracks. Her emo-phase self would’ve been so proud. Dried black tears plastered her face. Her mascara was nowhere to be found except for her cheeks, and the outside breeze had tangled her blond waves into knots. Janis reached for the face-wash and hairbrush she kept at Damian’s house, among other toiletries. She scrubbed her face as gently as she could, given her a wild array of emotions and amplified internalized homophobia. The idea of brushing her hair was vetoed after the spokes got stuck halfway down.

 

She crouched down to the cabinet, sorting through the stack of folded clothes she had under the sink. She changed out of her dress into sweats and a thrifted tee, painfully tying her hair into a top-knot.

 

The stairs groaned as Janis opened the bathroom door. Damian peeked over the side of the wall, in his own comfy clothes. “Hi,” he whispered, “Did you pick a movie yet?”

 

She opened the Dairy Queen bag she’d left on the coffee table, pulling out its contents. “No. I was thinking some cheesy Disney movie, though. Maybe Frozen?”

 

“Oh, god, Janis. Please no.” He walked past her, collapsing onto the couch and pulling a blanket overtop of himself.

 

“Joking. How ‘bout Princess And The Frog?”

 

“Hmm. Okay, valid. Can you hand me my blizzard please?’

 

Janis passed the light green and black ice cream to him. “Is that mint Oreo?” she asked, dramatically wrinkling her nose.

 

“Yes, ma’am.”

 

“Gross.” She spooned her ice cream, laughing at Damian’s noise of mock offence before combing through his old-school collection of DVDs. “Let’s not watch this one.” she held up Scream, the horror movie she and Damian had watched when Cady accidentally terrified them in her Halloween costume. Not only was it, evidently, a horror movie, it also reminded Janis of the ‘revenge party’ the three of them had put together. She didn’t really want to think about that.

 

Damian laughed once. “Let’s not. I think Princess And The Frog is a good choice.” He dipped a fry into his ice cream, stuffing the whole combination in his mouth. “How are you feeling about Cady?”

 

“Um, horribly.” Janis made a face, pushing the DVD into its player. “I’ll leave it at that. I just wish my friendships didn’t crumble apart so often. Glad I have you. I don’t know where I’d be if it weren’t for your support.” She looked up at him, cuddling into his shoulder. “Thank you.”

 

Damian’s expression softened. “I love you, Jan. I’ll always be here.” He must have sensed that Janis solely needed physical support right now, not to talk through it, because he brushed the blanket onto her legs and leaned his head onto hers. “Always. Now, let’s watch a girl make pastries.” He kissed her forehead.

 

“Damian, have you seen this movie before? It’s not only about beignets and New Orleans.”

 

“Frogs too, hey?”

 

“And dream-chasing and putting effort into what you want, and overcoming adversity-”

 

“ _Adversity._ English class is getting to ya, girlie.” Damian offered her the half-empty box of fries, and she grabbed a handful along with her melting blizzard.

 

“ _Anyways!_ Let’s watch now, please.” Janis shoved some fries into her mouth so Damian wouldn’t try to continue the conversation. She bumped her leg against his so he knew she was joking. Damian chuckled, gently elbowing her side and focusing on the movie.

 

* * *

 

“The frogs are gone.”

 

Janis jolted awake from her half-asleep daze. “What?”

 

“The movie.” Damian clarified through a yawn, stretching his arm around Janis’s shoulder. “They’re human again.”

 

“Oh. Mkay.” Janis leaned back onto Damian, tightening the blanket around her shoulders. “I’m tired.”

 

“Girl. We are not sleeping sitting up on the basement couch. C’mere.” Damian got up, the loss of heat making Janis frown.

 

She adjusted herself so she was angled on the couch, sticking her foot in-between the cushions.

 

“ _Janis!_ ” Damian hissed. “Come on, let’s go upstairs. Remember my mom got you a little mattress last week? Come get it with me, please.”

 

Janis groaned, peeking her eyes open and reaching her hands towards Damian, who grabbed them and pulled her up. “Don’t you dare flop back down, Jan.”

 

She stuck her tongue out at him, standing up and stretching her arms. She followed him up the stairs to the linen closet, where he slid a cylindrical green bag off of a shelf.

 

“You can try and set this up in my room. I’m gonna make us tea, okay?” Damian offered her the handle of the bag and went down the stairs into the kitchen after Janis took it.

 

“‘Kay.” She trailed into his room, unzipping the bag. She sat on the floor, looking up at the walls. Playbills tacked up on the wall covered the light brown paint, along with her own art pieces. A painting of the view out of Damian’s window sat opposite the same window. His blue sheets hung off the bed, pillows littered across the top. Chanel sprawled in the middle of it, lanky and soft. Janis tugged the mattress out of its bag, kicking the bag away and unrolling it. It fit perfectly in between Damian’s bed and his closet. She climbed onto it just as Damian came back in, two tea mugs in one hand and a pillow tucked under his other arm.

 

“Pillow?” Damian asked, setting the mugs down on his desk.

 

"Yeah, please.” Janis caught the pillow as he threw it to her. She set it down behind her and got up to look at the teas. “Which one’s mine?” The white ceramic mugs had blue flowers painted around them. Janis traced the colours, for once looking at artistry other than her own.

 

“The brown one. Orange pekoe, with sugar and cream. Mine’s Earl Grey.” He picked his up and sipped it. His hair stuck up in different directions, funnily enough matching his pink, blue and black psychedelic design on his shirt. Janis guessed it was Cher merch based on the face of the person in the design. “Mmm!” Damian set his tea down, realization lighting up his face. “You need a blanket! And a second pillow. Gimme a sec.”

 

Damian rushed out, leaving Janis to sit on his bed. Princess And The Frog still played in the basement, as abandoned as Janis felt. Being alone gave her mind some time to process her night. She sipped her tea, glancing around Damian’s room.

 

Janis loved Cady. Maybe she was _in_ love with her too. But Cady saying it out loud in such an angry tone didn’t sit right. Love was weird. Janis just wanted someone to play with her hair and swipe away her tears with their thumb. And, god, she wanted someone to kiss her. She wanted Cady to kiss her. It didn’t look like that was ever gonna happen, though. Janis didn’t even know if Cady liked girls like that. Her eyes started to sting. She squeezed them shut to keep tears from falling. She’d been sad enough for today. She took a gulp of her tea, focusing on her chipped black nails to give her eyes something to do. Her middle fingers stayed unpainted, a sneaky reminder to herself to prioritize her own needs, to not care about the drama of school and home. To remember that she’s important too.

 

“Janis?” Damian’s voice cut through her thoughts, worried and shaken. “What’s going on, are you okay?”

 

“Um.” Janis swiped at her eyes, her face still dry. Apparently her expression was enough to make Damian worry. “Yeah. Just thinking about Cady. I’m fine. Let’s, um, do you wanna watch Netflix?”

 

Damian set the blanket and pillow on his bed, sitting beside her and hooking his arm around her waist. Chanel jumped onto the floor, startled. “I love you. You don’t have to hide anything from me. Talk about it, babe.”

 

Janis took a shaky breath, scared to speak in case she burst into tears. She swirled her tea, watching the teabag spin. “I- um. She- I think I really am in love with her, Dame. She’s just so pretty and fun to be around but she would never date me. Look at me.” She gestured to her pajamas, retaining her punk-y aesthetic while still soft. “Why would a Plastic even _want_ to be associated with me? Sure, Cady was different. But she’s still just like Regina now. I just- I don’t even know what to do now. Can we just watch One Day At A Time and forget about it?”

 

“Yeah, sure. Come here.” Damian pulled his laptop off his desk, scooting backwards to the pillows. Janis leaned onto him, wiping her eyes again in fear of any tear-fall. She watched him type on his computer, Netflix popping up, and then One Day At A Time.

 

“Thank you.” she whispered.

 

“Yeah, Jan. Always. Feel free to fall asleep again. Um, what season do you wanna start on?”

 

“Two, duh.”

 

“Right.” Damian sipped his tea, making a face reminiscent of a meme. “Of course we’d start with Syd getting introduced. Love them.”

 

Janis yawned, maneuvering her body around to get under the blankets. “I’ll go onto my bed later, I promise.”

 

Damian smiled. “It’s surprisingly comfy, actually. And I brought you the fuzzy blanket.”

 

Janis gasped. “Really!?” She hadn’t used that blanket for months, and the last time she did, she became obsessed with the warmth it gave off.

 

“Yeah.” Damian said, chuckling. He reached for it, letting her hold the cozy blue fabric.

 

Love was weird. But it existed, and Janis had more than enough love with Damian. Which was all she needed.


End file.
